Self-Promoting when you’re a Writer

Over the last few days/weeks I’ve been pondering self-promotion and the best ways to go about it.  Even though I have a publisher behind me and my upcoming books (NineStar Press check them out here) I’m going to have to do a lot of work myself (and I’m okay with that). Still, there is a line between promoting your work and basically being that annoying person who shouts, “buy my book” or whatever all the time.  For me, the key is having a good mix of promotion, content and finding what works then ditching what doesn’t.  That way you don’t feel like you’re out selling your soul to everyone who walks by.

The internet is a great resource at finding ideas and suggestion.  Here are just a few I came across and liked (I won’t be doing everything but I plan on mixing it up):

50 Ways to Promote your book

15 Do it Yourself Tools to Promote your Book

How to Promote a Book

Not everything is going to work out and sure I’ll be banging my own drum to get people to notice me, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, as long as I don’t become an annoying crow about it (please let me know if I do).

For me, my current plan is to focus on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.  Also, I’ve talked to friends and families who are going to help spread the word.  I’ve joined various genre groups.  A press release is in the works as are Facebook ads.  I’m working on engaging people and getting folks excited about my upcoming book releases. There are three scheduled over the next few months (two short stories, The Reunion and A Dragon for Christmas, and one novel, The Calling).  Additionally, several people have been contacted and asked to read my ARC for, The Reunion, and provide reviews for the release day.  One, thing I’m doing and I’m finding surprisingly helpful are author interviews on various blogs. I’ve picked up some great new fans and I’ve been continuing to engage them.

How will all this effect book sales and my efforts at self-promotions? I’m not sure yet, but it can’t hurt. I guess what it all boils down to is getting out there (whatever that means) and being seen.  As I move closer to my book release days, I will let you know how things go.

I would love to hear what your thoughts are.  If you’re a writer please share, if you’re a reader please tell me what you like and don’t like about self-promotion.  As always have a great week.

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What is the Role of an Artist in Our World?

For a recent interview I was asked this question, I took a moment to reflect on it, then I provided an answer.  However, as I thought more about it the more I really liked the question and wanted to share more of my thoughts and the thoughts of others here.

When it comes to Art and Artists my opinion is, very simply, Artists show people the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful, what can be, and what should never be.  Artists not only remind the world of what and who we are, but they also start a dialogue about society.

Without art and artists, we would have no culture.  There would be no books, no movies, no theater, no photography, no television, etc.  There would be nothing to push our boundaries or make us contemplate the world around us.  We would be a world of people who live in simple boxes that all look the same with our heads filled with nothing but facts and figures.  The world would be dull and boring.

I found this article on Chron that I like about 'The Role of Visual Artists in Society'. The article starts out by saying, “Not only do the visual arts provide pleasure and creative inspiration, but they also help foster dialogue and bring important issues to the public eye.”  to read the whole article click here.

I ran across another article on Art Web and they had this to say,

“At times, art feels like it reflects the very core of humanity. Other times it is purely aesthetic, a luxury, a rare indulgence. Art can portray the rich complex beauty of the natural world, it can also make bold, ugly, raw statements that are unsettling, challenging and far from beautiful.”

For the full post click here.

What I like about both these articles is they talk about both beauty and dialogue and that ties into my thoughts about art. No matter what your attitude is about art or an artist you will have an opinion and it will create conversation. That in turn builds bridges and unites us (sometimes for good and sometimes for bad).

Whatever you think of art and artist remember without them the world would be a boring place.

What are your thoughts on the role of art and the artist?  I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject.  Until next week take care.

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Managing Multiple Writing Projects

First, let me start by saying, “Ugh!” This weeks blog is gonna be short, which I hope is cool with everyone.

Did you know there are literally hundreds of resources for managing multiple writing projects?  There are software programs, books, blogs, webinars, seminars, etc. It’s crazy.  I get people need help to focus; we all need that kind of help…

Oh look, squirrel.

Where was I? Oh right, staying focused.  Right now I have three projects I’m working on.  I’m writing A New World–Conspiracy, I’m writing TAD (my new writing project), and I want to edit/rework ‘The Reunion’ which was just published on Tall Tale TV, click here to check it out.

So, how do I keep it all under control?  I’m very basic.  I use outlines, notes, research, and character sheets. That’s all I use and for me that’s all I need.  I’m familiar with writers who use Scriverner and love it, which is great.  For me it’s one more item to manage.  It’s like using Microsoft Projects at the office, sure it works but you’ve got to manage it and populate it.  Ugh.  That’s way too much work for me. I like to keep it simple.

I understand that what works for me may not work for everyone and that’s great. What I’m really curious about today is what other writers think and use.  How do you keep everything you’re working on straight and organized?  Heck, you don’t even need to be a writer, just a busy person with a lot of balls in the air.  If you’ve got some great tips and tricks tell me.  Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Until next time, have a great week.

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Are Slow Burn Books Dead?

I’ve been wondering lately what people think of slow burn (slow paced) novels.  I don’t mean novels that go on-and-on about a rope unwinding, or describe every single item in a room to a reader.  What I’m talking about are stories that start off slow, allow readers to become familiar with the characters and their surrounding situations.  The reader actually gets to care about these people and their lives before all holy hell breaks loose.

This was a big topic of discussion on the writers group I belong to.  Most people agree there should be an inciting incident happening pretty quick (as soon as the first couple of paragraphs and no later than chapter five for all books). If you don’t know what an ‘inciting incident’ is it’s an episode, plot point or event that hooks the reader into the story. This particular moment is when an event thrusts the protagonist into the main action of the story.

Anyway, I agree with the need for an inciting incident I don’t see the need to be so fast.  I find in a lot of books/novels these days’ authors drop the reader right into the action, normally within the first few paragraphs. If not, the first paragraph.

So people love this.  It reminds them of movies and it gets their heart beating and, for them, it’s the best way for a novel to begin.

For me, I’ve hardly gotten to learn anything about these people, so why do I care if some monster, explosion or whatever is chasing them.

It’s only chapter two and their mother died in their arms.  The house they lived in blew up and aliens (or vampires or zombies or whatever) are rounding up the survivors.  Well lovely, but hey, could I maybe get the characters last name first.  Perhaps, find out that they have brown hair and green eyes.  I need to connect with these people.  I need to relate to them.

Is that too much to ask? 

Am I expecting too much?

Or worse yet, I’m I the only one who cares about this stuff? Clearly I’m not, because there are tons of books out there that move at a slower pace.

Still, is fast passed action, action, action all that people want?  Look at our movies and TV shows, you barely get any character information before you’re thrust into the action sequence.

Ugh, it gives me whiplash.

So, I continue to wonder are slow burn books dead? I hope not. Because if that’s the case, as a wannabe author, I’m screwed.  Two of my works in progress are what I would consider longish stories.  One ‘The Calling’ hovers around 100k words.  The other ‘A New World – Contact’ is around 169k words.  Currently, I’ve been trimming them both down, trying to cut the fat and leave the flavor.  It’s a slow process.

So, I’m asking, what do you all think? Do you care about these things or do you want a good story that you can sink your teeth in and enjoy?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Remember, you can always like and share this blog post.  It lets me know what you all want to talk about.  What are your thoughts on this topic?

See ya soon.

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Religion in non-Religious Books

To begin, in general I love religion. Belief in God plays such a strong role in our society that to ignore it as a writer is a mistake.  You’re doing a disservice to the reader and the story.  Now, I’m not saying to go in and make fun of religion (unless that is the point of your novel, article or short), or bash people over the head with your religious view.  Writers need to treat faith like they would treat any other topic.

It’s important so why ignore it.

The reason I bring this up is that as a writer all my stories hold some link to faith and a belief system of some kind.  I try to be fair with how I present the subject, and I don’t get preachy with beliefs in a Higher Power, and I steer clear of making fun of it. That said, I will point out hypocrisy because all faiths have it.

Regardless, I truly love religion (at one point I wanted to study World Religions) and I love how it affect us, who we are as a people and what we believe as a collective human culture.  Not to mention how we consider our fellow man.  Its saddens me when we attack each other for our religious beliefs. Because when you boil all beliefs in a High Power down to the basic ideal they are all pretty much the same.  There is so much that is wrong in the world today. Do we have to bring out the religious drums and beat them and attack each other over it?

I don’t think so.

Back to my point about religion in stories and as a fact in the lives of the character’s.  For me the subject of belief adds another layer to the character and their development.  When I create a character, I make a point to know what faith they are.  Even if it never comes up, because it will affect the decisions they make, for good and for bad.  Having that character knowledge helps with the details in the story.  Example:

A Jewish or Muslim character won’t typically eat pork;
A Mormon character won’t drink alcohol, caffeine (well some do) or curse;
A Catholic character may tend to be lax about some Catholic teachings; (divorce, contraception, fish on Fridays, church on Sundays, etc.) while being anti-abortion;
A Baptist character can be extremely religious (church every Sunday, bible study, heavy church involvement, etc.).

These are some general examples. How religion affects our characters, how they choose to believe, and how they practice their faith can be different for each one.  Faith in a Higher Power is different for each person. So, as writers we need to know this about our characters.

You may not want to have your Jewish main character eating a BLT on the Sabbath, or your Muslim main character having a huge meal at lunch during Ramadan, or your Mormon main character having a double espresso with a shot of bourbon at a party, or your Catholic main character having a fat juice steak on a Friday night during Lent, or your Baptist main character watching the big game on Sunday.

Again, these are just examples and I’m not saying it’s a rule (there are no rules in crafting your characters).

Once you know your character’s faith, you can play with it in the stories.  It can be a little flavor or spice thrown into the mix.

In ‘A New World - Contact’ I have a Catholic main character married to a Mormon secondary character, and I play with that dynamic.  I also, have a Baptist character who is good friends with a Russian Orthodox character, again you don’t know this as a reader because I don’t tell you in the story but it affects all the character motivations.

In ‘A Calling’ the main character was born Catholic, but his family wasn’t religious so he wasn’t religious. This was kind of fun to play with during the story.  It eventually becomes a major plot point in the work.

The other thing about religion in stories is faith helps with character motivations especially when those beliefs are called into question.  It allows the writer to add another layer of drama to why the character acts the way they do.  Imagine having all your beliefs suddenly called into question.  Stop and think about that for a moment.  How would you react?  How would that affect your life?  What would you have to change?  Would you be able to change, or would it be too much for you to cope with?

Interesting thought. Right? 

Faith in non-religious books, what do you think?  Yay, or Nay?  Feel free to share your thoughts below.  Remember you can always ‘like’ and ‘share’ this blog post.  It lets me know what you want to talk about. What you find interesting. What you would rather not see.  I’d love to hear from folks on this topic. 

See ya soon.

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Edit Down or Break the Book into Two?

That is the question.

As I’ve mentioned in past blogs, I’m to the editing point on both my stories (well more editing and trimming down) and I’m running into an authorly dilemma with one of my novels. Do I edit down my novel, or do I break the story into two books?

I’m really not a fan of breaking the book into two.  The story was written as a single novel and I want to keep it that way. Call it pride or being stubborn. I’ll admit to both. That said, if all I do is edit the story down, the book will be between 150k and165k words which is a long novel. I know this, I’ve always pictured it as an epic story. Still, it’s a size agents and publishers tend to bock at (for a variety of reason and I’m not devaluing their valuable advice). If I cut the book into two, I would need to write an ending for the first book and write a new beginning for the second book. I could do it as painful as may be for my ego, it could be done and I’m pretty sure I have a place that I can make it work. 

But, this, to me, seems like a cheat.  I’ve read books that do this, and I can tell.  It’s like the author saw 80k words as the stopping point and rushed to give the reader a half assed ending.  Then they pick up the story at a false beginning and continue on for another 80k–100k words and end the story.  When what they should’ve done, in my mind, is offer one book at 160k–180k words and given the reader something wonderful.

Now, I’m not saying cutting the book in two is wrong.  I’m saying I don’t personally like the idea.  Does this mean it hasn’t been done well? Of course it has.  I’m sure you can find a great editor, or story doctor, to help you accomplish a perfect cut that no one will ever notice. Expect for the author. Which is fine. After all a book is a product, you need to be able to market and sell.

I’m intentionally taking out the ‘art’ and ‘creative’ nature of the book/story so as not to involve emotion.

Some of you may be saying, “You’re too close to the work.  You’re not seeing all the fat to be trimmed. There is plenty to cut.”

You would be 100% correct. I am too close to the work.  But I’m still editing the beast down now.  I’m also going to put the book through another round of beta reads for feedback. Find out what people think and ask them to mark up where they believe the story can either be trimmed or cut.  With luck this will help me remove enough bits from the book to make it palatable for an agent and publisher.

If that still doesn’t work there is the idea of self-publishing. And it has appeal, because I can keep all the emotional connection to the book and treat it the way I want it treated.  Like a fine glass of wine enjoyed slowly on a quiet night in front of a warm fire.

Too much?

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Writing Villains

Bad Boys and Bad Girls, every story has them, but writing them can be tough.  Some people love the villain and I can understand why.  Right now we see a lot of ambiguous characters.  Is the good guy really a good guy?  Is the villain really a villain? Or is it all perspective?  Sure that can be interesting, but I don’t count them as villains, they are dark characters for sure, but are they really villains?

I don’t think so.

Maybe, they are just misunderstood and are in need of a hug.

For me the villain is someone who you should never have anything in common with.  You should never understand their point of view.  These characters should be flat-out-evil and we should hate everything about them.

Michael Myers (the original), Jason (the original), even Freddy Kruger (the original) they are true villains. I would even go so far as to call them monsters. Although, monsters to me are something a little different.

Anyway, I write my villains in the same vain (not the murdering campers or teenagers having sex or kids in their dreams sort of way) but still, you should be afraid of these villains.  You should fear them and never want to meet them. That is how I write my villains.  Is that a stereotype?  Probably, but it’s my story and I’ll write the characters I want.

So, if wearing a black top hat and twirling a black handle bar mustache is in order than expect to run into that.

To actually write the villain, for me, is hard.  It puts me in a dark place.  I get moody and grumpy.  I don’t like writing them, because for a short period of time I have to become them, to act like them, and to believe that what they’re doing is absolutely right. Which means there’s a part of me, no matter how small, that could actually become the monster I’ve created. And who wants to admit to that?  Who wants to ever consider that kind of villainess inside them?

Not me.

I hope when you read my books, and you realize what my villains are up to, you understand that it’s not me.  It’s them.  Well, perhaps, it’s a little bit me, but only a small part. One you’ll never meet.  At least I hope you won’t.  However, there is a woman at a fabric store and several cashiers at a computer electronics store that might disagree.

Killing off Characters and Characters Deaths

How I feel when I have to write a character's death.

Ugh!  This is a nightmare.  Having a character in your story die is akin to cutting off a finger or scoping out a favorite memory in your brain, never to have it again.  How do you handle this? What do you do?  Do you George R. R. Martin and kill with abandon and giggle while you do it (I’m not saying he does that, but I kind of am)? Do you kill the character and surprise! They weren’t really dead and it was all dream (ala Dallas – If you don’t know the TV Show Dallas or what I’m talking about, then Google it)? Do you go in writing a story like Stephen King and know you’re gonna kill a lot of people and not worry about it?

Character deaths are difficult and painful.  People will ask, does it serve the plot?  Why would I kill a character if it doesn’t serve the plot?  Of course it serves the plot.  Are you doing it for shock value?  Um… I don’t think so.  Cause, let me tell you it’s painful to write. So, if all I want to do is shock the reader, then I could have my characters run around naked and describe it in full detail… now that would be shocking.

The death of a character sucks!  I hate the idea of killing a character I love, and one that has potential. A character that I could do so much more with later on in the book or series, why do they need to die? – pounds fits on desk.

Perhaps, that is the point.  It’s like real life, when people die before their time.  When they have so much more to do, and poof, for whatever reason they die leaving all those things left undone.

As a writer, I have to think about these things.  Do I quiet a voice?  Do I bring a young life to a bitter end?  Do I leave the character alive and suffer the consequences with the other characters?  There is so much to figure out, and so much to consider.  It’s never an easy choice. When I’ve had to do it, I won’t lie there have been tears.

I wish I could sit down with the character, talk to them and explain why what I’m planning is for the best of the story.  Would it make it easier?  Probably not.  Would I feel better about it? Nope.

Ugh!

Paranormal Fiction vs. Urban Fantasy

I was chatting with some writer friends and we were talking about our various works in progress and the differences between Paranormal Fiction and Urban Fantasy as a genre type.  None of us could really agree on what qualifies fit our stories.  We all have elements of each.  For example, my novel, ‘The Calling’ is set in a modern urban area with elements of the supernatural, which is the definition of Urban Fantasy. However, ‘The Calling’ also revolves around the paranormal, which is the definition of Paranormal Fiction. So, where does that leave ‘The Calling’?

I wasn’t sure.

Digging into both genres, which are a sub-genre of Fiction, the question I posed to my writers group became how picky does the author, publisher, or agent want to be? For me, either genre works fine.  If I had to pull hairs, I’d probably go with Urban Fantasy because novels that are similar to mine are in that category and it sounds cooler. But is this choice mine to make?

As our conversation continued and with the novel still in the editing phase does the genre really matter? Yes, it does.  When you’re trying to query the novel to agents and publishers you have to tell them the genre your book is in.  And from everything I read and learned from other people you should limit your choice to one genre. So, back to my writers group I went.  After speaking with them ad nauseam the group consensus was that my novel should go into Urban Fantasy.

Great, ‘The Calling’ is a modern day Urban Fantasy.

Yay!  Problem solved.

Or is it?

Because in the back of my mind I always pictured ‘The Calling’ as a Paranormal Fiction story with dark elements to it. That was how I wrote the story, at least I thought I did. I suppose as I move the book along the process, people much smarter than me will pat me on top of my head and tell me that ‘The Calling’ is actually a ‘Ghost Story’ and I was foolish for thinking it was anything else.

Oh, didn’t I mention there are bits of a Ghost Story to ‘The Calling’, yep, there are.

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What about Writing Inspiration

Sometimes I get asked about my writing inspiration.  It’s an odd thing.  In most cases, I know what I want to write and when I want to write it.  Other times, I’ll be out-and-about and something or someone interesting will strike me, those are the best times.  I can jot down a few notes and move on with my day.

What I feel like when inspiration hits in the middle of the night

The worst time when inspiration strikes is when I’m sleeping and I’ll have a dream about the characters in one of my works-in-progress.  Most of the time I can deal with it, I wake up the next morning and, again, jot down a few notes and move on.  But then there are the times when I’m trying to sleep and the characters talk to me. They won’t shut up.  Crazy, I know, but it happens.

When this happens, it’s normally the main character who won’t shut-up telling me about themselves and what they want.  On rare occasions it’ll be a secondary character who will push aside everything, and everyone, to grab my attention.  They will normally address themselves, however once in a while they’ll address the plot or something happening in the story and give me their opinion and their take on the situation.

Overall, this can be helpful. So I don’t tend to mind too much as long as they let me sleep. Normally after I get up and jot a few notes down.

Recently, on vacation, I was having a massage and one of my characters popped into my head and started talking.  Telling me what they wanted and what they thought would help the story move a long.  So, there I was having a wonderful eighty minutes massage with one of my characters chatting away.  I was stuck, so I had to listen.  What I got out of it, was not only some really great plot points, but help to flush out his character.

More importantly, I was still able to enjoy my massage.

Additionally on vacation, a different character, from another story decided the setting where I was on vacation, would be a perfect place for him and several characters from his story to have a ‘major’ event happen.  I wasn’t planning on this to happen in that story but, the more he talked, the more I liked the idea.  So, when I got back to the resort, I made notes and came up with additional outlines for that story.

Inspiration for me, comes from anywhere and anyone.  I would like to say that I can sit down and get inspired and then shut it off when I want to.  But that isn’t always the case. I suppose I wouldn’t want it any other way. Well except when I want to sleep or relax.  Or like right now.  I should be working on my next chapter, however, I’m writing this instead

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